The Malaysian Insight

THE Securities Commission is unable to determine if top graft buster Azam Baki breached any rules in allowing his trading account to be used by his brother. 

It said today investigations have ended but “based on evidence gathered, the SC is not able to conclusively establish that a breach under section 25(4) of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 has occurred,” the regulator said in a statement.

Section 25 stipulates that every securities account opened with a central depository must be in the name of the beneficial owner of the deposited securities or an authorised nominee. 

The SC did not state what would happen next given that its investigation was inconclusive.

On January 6 the SC announced that it would will contact Azam for an explanation on the use of his trading account by his brother to purchase shares.

This followed Azam’s admission that his brother, Nasir, had used his trading account to purchase shares from two companies.

The shares were later transferred to Nasir, he said.

The shares were 2.15 million in Excel Force MSC Bhd in 2015, as well as the 1.93 million shares in Gets Global Bhd the same year and 1.02 million shares the following year. At this time Azam had been Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) director of investigations.

Azam said he informed his superiors about his brother’s purchase of shares in 2015, adding that no concern was raised.

Azam’s explanation satisfied MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board chairman Abu Zahar Ujang, who said the chief commissioner had done no wrong.

Besides a possible breach of SC rules, questions have been raised about his declaration of the purchase to “superiors” he did not name nor provided any record of.

Some critics have also asked how Azam could have afforded the shares as a civil servant. According to Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, however, the shares were said to be worth RM330,000.

Azam has said he will not resign and that only the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can remove him.

In tandem with SC’s probe, complaints were lodged with the MACC by a little-known group calling itself Rakyat Prihatin Malaysia on alleged corruption among SC’s senior officials.

Dubious Twitter accounts also began defending Azam and attacking opposition political parties on social media.

Azam was to have been the subject of a Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department meeting to have been held tomorrow to investigate the matter.

But it has been postponed indefinitely by its chairman Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman after Azam wrote to him that calling the meeting was a breach of Parliament’s Standing Orders. 

Opposition lawmakers Azis Jamman (Sepanggar-Warisan), Chan Foong Hin (Kota Kinabalu), Khoo Poay Tiong (Kota Melaka) and William Leong (Selayang), who sit on the committee, have disagreed with Latiff’s decision.

They are calling for the hearing to proceed with or without Azam’s attendance. – January 18, 2022.